Report: SF Giants, Red Sox offer Yoshinobu Yamamoto more than $300 million
The SF Giants and Boston Red Sox have made contract offers to free agent right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (#2-ranked free agent) worth at least $300 million, according to a report by disgraced former general manager turned MLB analyst Jim Bowden. While early offseason projections expected Yamamoto to receive a contract in the $200 million range, his market has reached a fever pitch over the past week. With the Giants and Red Sox trying to keep up with their division rivals, it's no surprise that either one is trying to woo Yamamoto with a massive offer.
"The #Giants and #RedSox both making a strong recent push for Yoshinobu Yamamoto both with offers more than $300 million dollars according to sources," Bowden wrote. "Certainly others too making strong runs."
There is obvious reason to be cautious of Bowden's report. With recent reports suggesting the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees are currently two of the most likely landing spots for Yamamoto, it seems like more than a coincidence that a leak revealing massive offers from two rivals is coming out this weekend. Of course, it could also be a sign that neither the Dodgers nor Yankees have matched the Giants and Red Sox offers, which could be keeping their hopes of landing the superstar free agent alive.
Nevertheless, the Giants have been tied to Yamamoto for some time. An early offseason report claimed the organization was set on landing Yamamoto or Shohei Ohtani. While Ohtani ultimately signed with the Dodgers despite a comparable offer from San Francisco (don't blame the city for that decision), Yamamoto remains unsigned.
Yamamoto is still only 25 years old and has long been considered one of the best pitchers not already in MLB. Across the past seven seasons in the NPB with the Orix Buffaloes Buffaloes, Yamamoto has recorded a 1.82 ERA with 922 strikeouts and just 206 walks in 897 innings pitched.
Yamamoto has some of the best command in the world, allowing him to shut down offenses in a multitude of ways. He manipulates the grip on his fastball to generate sink, cut, and four-seam movement on occasion, all of which generally sits in the 92-95 mph range, although he has reached 99 mph. His splitter is generally considered his most devastating pitch and generates consistent swings and misses. He also has a traditional curveball.
The Giants have already made one big splash this offseason, by signing center fielder Jung-Hoo Lee to a six-year, $113 million contract. Like Lee, Yamamoto is one of the few free agents who fit the Giants perfectly. If president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is able to convince Yoshinobu Yamamoto to sign with the SF Giants, the 2023-24 offseason would undeniably be the franchise's biggest offseason since landing Barry Bonds more than 30 years ago.
